Dr Adam Bonaa is the Acting Executive Secretary of NACSA

The Acting Executive Secretary of the National Commission on Small Arms and Light Weapons (NACSA), Dr Adam Bonaa, has highlighted the challenges hindering the Commission’s ability to execute its mandate effectively.

According to him, the country currently has only one weapon detection system, which is capable of identifying a firearm regardless of where it is concealed.

However, he noted that this system is not portable and therefore cannot be deployed to schools to address the increasing incidents of students carrying weapons.

He added that having multiple detection systems installed across various schools would be instrumental in preventing students from bringing weapons onto school premises.

Dr Bonaa, responding to a question during an interview with GhanaWeb on whether the Commission and schools are adequately equipped to detect and prevent students from carrying weapons to school, said, “We currently have a weapons detection system that allows us to do this, but it is only one. We only have one weapon detection system that is able to identify a weapon even if it is buried under the surface of the earth. What it means is that, that one detector, which is highly sophisticated cannot be moved to every secondary school in this country.”

He added, “You can't move it to every border area in this country, and so it means that we need to acquire more of that. It is something that we are hoping that we can get some donors and also something that the central government is in the process of helping us to get one or two more, but we will need more of it. We need more of such weapons.”

The remarks of Dr Bonaa, also a security analyst, come on the back of the recent arrest of a 16-year-old form two student of the Osei Kyeretwie Senior High School (OKESS), who was granted bail following his arrest by the Tafo Pankrono Divisional Police Command after a locally manufactured gun was found among his belongings in school.

The form two student was arrested after school authorities discovered a firearm in his possession without lawful authority during a routine dormitory search on Wednesday, May 14, 2025, at approximately 9:30am.

He was granted police enquiry bail along with his stepfather, Daniel Owusu Baafi, who was also arrested after it was revealed during the student’s interrogation that he owned the firearm.

MAG/MA

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